Marie-Angélique Anel Le Rebours

Marie-Angélique Anel Le Rebours (1731-1821), also known as Marie-Angelique Anel Le Rebours, Anel Le Rebours, Le Rebours, and Lerebours, was a French midwife and author who wrote an influential and pioneering manual on breastfeeding. Published in 1767, Avis aux mères qui veulent nourrir leurs enfants (“Advice to Mothers Who Wish to Nurse Their Infants”), suggested best practices for lactation and the care of newborns.  Breaking from advice conveyed by male writers at the time, she advised women to introduce babies to their breasts within twelve hours of birth instead of waiting for several days.  

As the first woman to publish a book about breastfeeding based on her own experiences as a mother, Anel Le Rebours encouraged the practice at a time when more than 90% of French babies were fed by wet-nurses and when infant mortality rates were high.  During her lifetime, her book appeared in several French editions and in translations in Dutch, German, and Danish.  The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who saw breastfeeding as a route to social regeneration, reportedly gave her the idea for writing this book.